World Priest Day

Today as we celebrate World Priest Day, we honor the men who have dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Let me then, today, take a few moments and reflect on the priesthood.

Sacramentally there are three key things that only priests can do:  hear confessions and give absolution;  anoint the sick; and most importantly, consecrate the Eucharist.

When you consider those three sacraments, they offer a powerful testament to the meaning of the priesthood. (Read more…)

World Mission Sunday

Catholics throughout the world are invited to recommit themselves to the Church’s missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice by observing World Mission Sunday on October 24th. Instituted for the whole Church by Pope Pius XI in 1926, it is traditionally celebrated on the next-to-last Sunday each October.

Today, let us join our brothers and sisters around the world who gather at the Lord’s Table to celebrate, with great joy, our common vocation as missionaries. Our prayers and concrete gestures of solidarity will help build local churches across the globe. (Read more…)

Praying the Rosary

Traditionally, October is the month when praying the rosary is emphasized. The Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous mysteries of the rosary shed light upon the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the key role of Mary, His mother, in the story of salvation history.

The rosary is traditionally credited to St. Dominic (1170-1221 AD). According to legend, the Blessed Mother appeared to Dominic in a vision, handed him the rosary and asked him to spread the devotion. (Read more…)